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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2002
At Memphis open house, Velsicol can't hide from
truth
Memphis, Tenn.—Last month
Velsicol Chemical Corporation held an open house at the Douglass Community
Center here to try to convince area residents that continuing to operate their
hazardous waste incinerator would not harm them. A compliant community
organization was there to tout the "shelter in place" plan, that is,
the next time there's an explosion at the plant, stay in your house, close the
windows and ignore the toxic chemicals. Velsicol tried to exclude
Balinda Moore, a founding member of Concerned Citizens of Crump, who has been
fighting toxic pollution caused by Velsicol and other chemical plants to her
all-Black neighborhood since 1992. Moore, along with Rita Harris, environmental
justice coordinator for the Sierra Club, and over 25 community residents and
their supporters, crashed Velsicol's toxic whitewash to hold their own meeting
and press conference. Parts of their statements are here: Balinda Moore: On Sept. 20
Velsicol said they conducted a telephone survey to make the community aware that
should there be another February 2001, when there was a huge explosion at the
plant, there would be an automatic system that would phone every resident in the
area to let them know what's going on. I told them on Sept. 21 that
there were at least seven people I knew that the emergency phone test didn't
reach. They still claimed it was successful and didn't get back to me until
January 2002. A lot of dead people are listed
on this report. Even Velsicol said only 16% were contacted. Now, should there be
a disaster, and there's more than a thousand homes in this neighborhood, and
you've only contacted 16%, there's a potential for a lot of deaths when the
great explosion comes. If Dr. King was yet living, he could not help but be
concerned about the safety and health
conditions of the people in all neighborhoods—especially the poor
African-American neighborhoods of Douglass, Bungalow, and Crump. I also want to talk about
Velsicol's refusal to allow the environmentally informed to have an exhibit at
this open house. I asked directly: What about me? They said, I'll think about it
and we'll get back to you. It took a week till the safety
officer called and said no, it would not be good, that would be a conflict. The
information I'm willing to give out is said to be in conflict. What they're
giving out is a Velsicol horse and pony show tonight. Retha Winfield: There was an
explosion at Velsicol last year (see March 2001 N&L). My father has since
died from leukemia and multiple myeloma. I was a nurse at Baptist Hospital for
21 years, and I did a survey of people in my neighborhood who have died from
catastrophic diseases. There has been crippling arthritis, cancers, lung
diseases. Out of only two streets I bet I can count 30 people who have died from
those diseases. Jennifer Warren: Since moving
to this area last year I had to come under the care of an allergy and asthma
specialist and have incurred numerous medical bills. In less than a year I have
been diagnosed with asthma, experienced my eyes watering all through the night
and then being swollen in the mornings. I suffer from recurring nosebleeds,
shortness of breath and sinus infections every other month. I have been
prescribed six different medications ranging from $20-$40 each and I have
insurance. Minorities and low-income citizens have the inalienable right to
breathe the same unpolluted air that the rich neighborhoods enjoy. Vera Corley: Of the five of us born to my mother and father, my brother and my sister both died in this neighborhood from cancer, heart disease and tuberculosis; so did my mother, my aunt, my uncle, and several cousins. We have a family plagued by cancer that we believe is coming from these chemical companies that surround us—especially from Velsicol. Breast cancer and lung cancer run rampant here. If we do nothing else tonight we want to make that abundantly clear and bring it to everyone's attention. |
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